Ohio State Turns Back Illinois 40-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2005
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State offense rolled up 526 total yards and scored at least 40 points for the third consecutive game as the No. 12 Buckeyes beat Illinois 40-2 Saturday in front of 104,799 fans Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State junior quarterback Troy Smith completed 13 of 21 passes for a career-high 298 yards and three touchdowns, hitting junior flanker Santonio Holmes three times for 59 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore flanker Ted Ginn Jr. four times for 138 yards and one TD. Sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman carried the ball 22 times for 96 yards and a pair of scores. Smith was 8-for-8 in the second half for 193 yards and two scores.
The Buckeyes, who improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten, scored four times in the second half after scoring 13 points before intermission.
Holmes caught a 3-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 19-0 lead with 11:14 to play in the third quarter, but on the point after try, the snap was bobbled, fumbled and scooped up by Kevin Mitchell at the Illinois 25-yard line. He raced 75 yards for the defensive PAT to make the score 19-2 and break up the shutout bid by the Buckeye defense. The Buckeyes scored on a 16-yard rush by sophomore tailback Antonio Pittman with 7:22 to play in the third quarter. The touchdown, Pittman’s third of the season, gave Ohio State a 26-2 lead after the successful Huston PAT. The Buckeyes took the ball at the Illinois 28-yard line after the Illini faked a punt on fourth-and-six. They got only 4 yards, giving Ohio State excellent field position. The Buckeyes found the end zone four plays later on Pittman’s dive inside the left pylon.
Then the speedy Ginn got into the scoring act in huge way, blowing past a defender to catch a 73-yard pass from Smith to give the Scarlet and Gray a 33-2 lead with 4:00 to play in the third quarter.
Ginn helped the Buckeyes to their fourth touchdown of the second half when he took a 52-yard pass from Smith down to the Illinois 8-yard line. On the next play, Pittman took it the rest of the way to give Ohio State a 40-2 lead with 12:10 to play in the game.
The 40-point offensive output marked the first time since the 1995 season the Buckeyes tallied 40 or more points in three-consecutive games. That year, the Buckeyes had four-consecutive 40-plus point games, starting with a 56-35 win vs. Iowa before winning 49-21 at Minnesota, 41-3 vs. Illinois and 42-3 against Indiana. Ohio State came into Saturday vs. Illinois with a 41-10 win at Indiana and a 45-31 victory at Minnesota.
Senior place kicker Josh Huston gave the Buckeyes the first points of the game courtesy of a 29-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play in the first quarter. The field goal capped a nine-play, 32-yard drive. He connected from 22 yards out with 7:38 to play in the second quarter to build the lead to 6-0. This time, the Buckeyes moved 86 yards in 11 plays before Huston kicked his 16th field goal of the year.
The Buckeyes found the end zone with 2:20 to play in the first half when Smith found Holmes down the left sideline for a 41-yard scoring strike. He needed a key block from Ginn at about the 5-yard line for the touchdown, his eighth of the year. Huston converted on the PAT to give Ohio State a 13-0 lead. The score ended a nine-play, 80-yard drive.
The Buckeyes led 13-0 at the half thanks to 218 yards of offense to 64 yards by Illinois. Smith completed 5-of-13 first half passes for 105 yards and ran for 49 yards on five carries. Pittman led the Buckeyes with 57 rushing yards in the first half. Tim Brasic, the Illinois quarterback, completed 8-of-9 passes for 15 first-half yards. The Illini added 49 yards on the ground before intermission.
Brasic completed 18 of 24 passes for 92 yards without an interception or touchdown, but was sacked five times for 31 yards, including twice by A.J. Hawk. Twenty-two of those yards came from Hawk, who led the Buckeyes with 10 tackles in the game. Mike Kudla and Donte Whitner finished the game with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
The Buckeyes held the Fighting Illini to 160 total yards, including 68 yards rushing and 92 passing. Ohio State ran for 202 yards and had 324 yards passing. Illinois, which fell to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Big Ten, had only nine first downs in the game compared to 24 by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State will honor 16 seniors next Saturday in the season’s final home game when Northwestern comes to Ohio Stadium for a noon kickoff. The game will be televised by ABC Sports.
